Aiming to become one of the nation's premier destinations for people interested in biking and hiking, Duluth is building trails designed to lure young educated professionals.

Mayor Don Ness and other city officials hope the trails also will attract entrepreneurs seeking a talented work force. They've set their sights on people like Duluth native Jon Heyesen, who directs business development at Citon Computer Corp., a growing information technology services firm.

Heyesen, a consultant, grew up in Duluth, but left this summer for a new job in the Twin Cities. After a month, he quit and headed back home where he can go for a 10-mile trail run or ride mountain bikes.

"You can go get lost for hours and hours right out my front door," said Heyesen, 34.

For Heyesen and other members of his generation, where they live is as important as where they work.

"They want to ski; they want the outdoors; they want all of that," he said. "So that becomes more important, that sense of place."

That sensibility is the foundation for Duluth's latest economic development strategy, Minnesota Public Radio reports.

On a steep, wooded slope at the Spirit Mountain ski area, a construction crew is carving out a trail weaving down the hillside. Designed for mountain bikers, it has a vertical drop of 700 feet, with steep banked curves and jumps.

There are only a handful of similar trails in the nation, said Hansi Johnson, Midwest regional director for the International Mountain Biking Association.

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"It will be just a downhill, roller coaster ride of a trail," Johnson said as bikers who were testing the hairpin curves whipped by.

Johnson, who lives just south of Duluth in Thomson, is in Duluth to help train volunteers to build and maintain segments of Duluth Traverse, a planned 100-mile-long specialty trail that eventually will span the city. With miles of green space and steep hills, he said, Duluth has a lot of potential for great biking.

"We're set up to be potentially one of the best mountain bike trail towns in the country," Johnson said. "There's no doubt about that at all."

A local mountain biking club, Cyclists of the Gitchee Gumee Shores, recently won a $250,000 state Legacy grant to begin construction of the Traverse trail. The city is kicking in $100,000 a year from its new parks and libraries fund that voters approved last year.

Although Duluth has faced fiscal struggles, Ness said spending money on trails is justified. He said employers have to be confident they can find the talent they need, and adding trails can help.

"We do have a high quality of life," Ness said. "And now we're making these investments in the sort of amenities that are particularly attractive and interesting to talented young professionals."

The strategy reflects a shift away from manufacturing in Duluth's economy.

Factories account for only 5 percent of all jobs in the Duluth area, less than half the percentage of three decades ago, said Drew Digby, a state regional labor market analyst.

"A lot of the places where we've seen growth are in things like computer system design, or architecture and engineering," Digby said. "Those are places where to attract talent, the companies have to offer something special to the employees."